All For You
by Prettie Parker
Summary: "Why 're you doin this?" Lyla asked plainly, keeping her voice purposefully low as she searches his face for answers in the dimming light. Will looks down at Lyla suddenly, finally meeting her eyes, and all she see is stubborn and steel staring back at her. "S'ones gotta." He answers curtly. (Cap Hatfield/OC)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is my first Cap Hatfield story, but I've loved the miniseries forever and read most stories out there. I'm planning four parts for this story. They all center around a single conversation with flashbacks to add depth and context. In doing research I found Johnse also sometimes was called Jonce for short in the show, so I use both. The timeline follows the show. Feedback s greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you like it or if it's shit.

 **Part 1**

The room is deathly silent. The air so thick Lyla could cut it with a knife. The cracklin of the fire the only sound to be heard as her heart pounds so hard she can hear it pumping in her ears.

Lyla's eyes are hinged upon her uncle Anse as his bore into her with such stern fever she feels her body heating up under the burn of his glare. Lyla knows her uncle is loyal to his kin, but being on the wrong side of his temper has got her spooked.

His pipe is clenched between his teeth before he tugs it out once more. The gravel of his voice filling the room with dread.

"Now I'm only gonna ask you one more time, who gotcha in 'ta this predicament?"

Lyla never wanted to bring such trouble upon her family. She already felt burden enough on her uncle and aunt, taking her and her brother in after her Pap been murdered. But this… This was too much to ask of anyone.

Gone and shamed herself and her family in the worst way a lady can. That's why she hid it as long as she could. With McCoy's out for vengeance, bounty hunters and the law after her family, timing never seemed right to add another pillar onto the fire.

That's why it took her aunt putting the pieces together and confronting her before the awful truth came to light.

Lyla swallowed hard against the choking lump in her throat. Her breath quivering with fear as it slips past her lips.

Lyla's eyes shot to her aunt Levicy, a pleading in her gaze she couldn't suspend, but Levicy's gaze was as steady as Anse, with no sympathy to be found.

Her aunt Levicy was a kind woman. Always been really good to Lyla, raising her like her own after Lyla's mama died, but she was a strong woman too and Lyla has just brought a world a hurt on her home.

Lyla's lips felt parched as she ran her tongue across them. Praying she could make her tongue do something more when she tried to speak.

Lyla opens your mouth to deliver her death sentence and own up to what she's done, but before she can speak someone beats her to the punch.

"I did," An all to distinctive gritty twang answers behind her. A voice Lyla would know anywhere.

Spinning around, her skirt twirling as she goes, Lyla's eyes land on Will, Cap as they like to call him. She's not sure when he came in the door or how he long he's been standing there, but he'd clearly heard enough.

Lyla wants to ask him what the hell he's doing, but he never meets her eyes, holding steady on his Pa's.

"Ya did what?" Anse sternly questions, both shock and rage waging war for dominance on his face as his attention turns to Will.

"Now hows it I raised two sons that can be so god damn dumb! Didn' have 'nough trouble already with yer brother, had to go make yer own mess!" Lyla listens to her uncle Anse hollering, his voice bellowing through the homestead, feet stomping against the floorboard as she spins back around to see him storming over toward Will.

"Now I told ya to stay away offa her when she came into this house!" Anse hollers, bringing up a conversation between father and son Lyla wasn't privy to, but only made matters worse for Will.

Lyla barely has time to follow his stride before he's on Will, fist swinging. Blinded by his rage, Will went down without a fight. Didn't even try to defend himself, taking it like he had it coming, accepting his Pa's punishment.

Lyla can't watch him take this punishment for her. She can't bare it. So, she charges into the mess. Trying to reach Will.

"Please uncle Anse, Please!" Lyla desperately begs.

Likely get herself pummeled too if Johnse hadn't stepped in, trying to pull his Pa back. Lyla hadn't even realized Johnse was there either until he intervened.

Lyla reaches for Will as she crouches against the floor, trying to get between the two men and cover herself over him, but Will still manages to hold her back at arm's length, trying to protect her too.

Johnse manages to keep some of the blows back, before Levicy steps in. Always a fierce mama, she gets Anse to backdown from his rage.

Everyone's huffing, tensions high as the fight breaks apart. Lyla and Johnse help Will back to his feet, before he shakes off the hold she and Johnse got on him. Lyla's heart breaks with the sight of his bleeding lip and busted cheek.

"Y'all go outside now. Let me 'in yer Pa have a word." Levicy speaks, no question in her tone.

They all move to the porch out front, the door barely shutting before they all come to a slow and steady stop. Lyla feel Johnse's eyes on her first, sharp against the fading sunlight dipping down on the mountain peaks.

She doesn't know what he's thinking and she's afraid to find out. His gaze is penetrating as it sweeps between her and Will.

Lyla's meet his gaze, but only briefly before turning her eyes to Will and the look pulsing through Will as he stares down his brother is enough to chill the blood in the any man's veins.

Without a word, Johnse turns and trots down the porch steps and away from the house. Lyla knows her heart should feel heavy that he's running scared, but she's never been so relieved to see Johnse's go.

As soon as Johnse was outta ear shot, Lyla turns to Will.

"Why 're you doin this?" She asked plainly, keeping her voice purposefully low as she searcsh his face for answers in the dimming light.

Will looks down at Lyla suddenly, finally meeting her eyes, and all she see is stubborn and steel staring back at her.

"S'ones gotta." He answers curtly, before moving swiftly across the porch, his boots heavy against the old boards.

 **Five Months Earlier...**

 **Election Day 1882**

Blackberry Creek was bustling with life. It was election day and people from all around these parts had come out for the festivities. It was summer time in the south; the days were long and warm, and the air was thick and sticky.

Rhythmic stomping feet and the twangy tune of the fiddle filled the forest with life. Couples danced around the makeshift floor without a care in the world. Sporadic gun fire broke through the fiddle's sweet melody as men drank and carried on over a lively shooting contest at the edge of the festivities. While bootleggers sold their whiskey from the barrel off rickety carts, Johnse manning his own brew from his still up in the hills.

The clearing bustled with life as merchants and peddlers sold their goods from booths and stands. People laughed and mingled without a care in the world, and for a short while you'd never know two feuding families were enjoying themselves side by side.

You love election day, for her it's a chance to get away from doing chores and have a little fun for a change. The sun feels hot on her shoulders and head, the air thick and dewy on her skin, while her hair soaks up the sun. Unlike her Pa's chestnut hue, Lyla's is long and blonde like her cousins, with big blue eyes to match.

Tall and lean with soft curves in all the right places, Lyla's noticed the way men's eyes like to linger, but in a family of roughneck men where girls are far more the rarity, a man would have to damn near pass through an army just to get near her. And with the circumstances of her birth, no suitable man had really tried.

Lyla watches from the sidelines as her brother Cotton Top carries on with the younger Hatfield children.

He may be her older brother by fourteen months, but it's her job to watch over him. He requires extra attention and since Lyla's Ma passed, that always fallen on her and her Pa. Not that she minds it, Cotton Top is the sweetest boy Lyla knows. She can't imagine her life without him.

"Pretty ribbon you got in yer hair." A voice spoke up suddenly from beside her.

Lyla turns to find none other than Calvin McCoy standing there, Randal McCoy's son, having crept up unannounced.

She offers him a subtle nod and turns back to watch her brother and the younger Hatfield children scurry amongst the grass and dirt.

"Thanks, my Pa got it for me." She answers plainly, being polite.

"I'm Calvin McCoy," He says, introducing himself while trying to keep her attention.

"I know who you are." Lyla answers back, returning her gaze to him only briefly.

"Ah, I see." He drawls out. "Take it ya hate McCoy's like the resta yer kin." He questions rhetorically, a crooked grin creepy up on the corner of his lips.

Lyla catches the glint in his eyes as she turns back to him.

"I try not to hate 'nyone." She answers honestly, fighting back the grin that's working its way on her face.

"You got a pretty smile too." His says, grin spreading wide as his eyes light up under her attention.

Lyla's face drops as she realizes he's flirting with her. Shaking her head, she dismisses the notion as her cheeks start to burn. Was it his compliment or the sun? New to this game for two, Lyla didn't have much experience with boys outside her kin.

"What's goin' on over here?" A rough voice picks up suddenly from behind her.

Turning toward her other shoulder, Lyla finds Will coming at her. His gaze reaching over her head, driving nails into the young man beside her.

Lyla can tell her cousin isn't pleased to see her conversing with a McCoy. As Devil Anse son and Jim Vance nephew, hating McCoys has been instilled in Will since he was just a boy.

While Lyla's Pap had always been more reasonable about these matters and tried to raise her and her brother up the same.

Placing her hand on his arm, Lyla tries to ease the rapidly mounting tension.

"We was just talkin' Will." She explains as if it were that simple.

"Ya heard the lady, we was just talkin." Calvin throws back, with a boldness on his breath and a challenge in his eyes Lyla knows damn well is a recipe for disaster.

"Shut up McCoy, think it's best you go on back to yer own kin." Will snaps out, still never looking Lyla's way as he holds his ground in a standoff against Calvin McCoy.

"An' if I don'?" Calvin throws back as he squares his shoulders, refusing to back down to Will or any Hatfield.

Lyla can see the fuse has been lit in Will's eye. Her favorite cousin, she's been watching him her whole life. She knows what makes Will tick and she knows if this turns anymore sour it's going to be more than just words that gets thrown around. Lyla don't want that, certainty over her.

Removing the remaining distance between herself and Will, Lyla's hand find his chest as she pleads with Will to be sensible, be the bigger man. Hoping his soft spot for her will win him over.

"He's not worth, Will. Please."

Finally, he looks down at her, her touch breaking through the stubborn steel of his anger.

"Please, let's just go." She tries to reason with him, her eyes calling for him.

Before he can make up this mind, another voice steps in overshadowing the rest. "Calvin! What 're doin' with Hatfields? Git over here."

Lyla looks over her shoulder to see Calvin's cheeks turning red with a twinge of embarrassment, he'd been caught red handed. Despite his resistance to backing down, the young man could see he no longer had a choice in the matter as he tilted his hat to her.

"Miss Lyla," He said before hightailing it back over to his brother, a McCoy Lyla recognized as Tolbert. The curly red hair and scowl on his face giving him away every time.

"N' stay the hell away from her!" Lyla tensed against the grit in Will's voice as he left Calvin with a parting message.

As Calvin left, Lyla felt Will take ahold of her elbow and starts leading her across the grass.

"I'm s'pose to be watchin the kids." She says.

"Robert E. can." Will spits curtly back.

She knows he wants to have a word with her as she moves away from Calvin, Lyla realizes she isn't the only one getting a lecture as she hears Tolbert's crass words in the distance. "What 're you doin' with that Hatfield bastard?"

Lyla cringes a little with a name she's heard all too many times, but never quite got used to.

Glancing up at Will, she's only relieved he didn't hear it or that fire would have sparked back to life ten times the blaze it was moments ago. As protective as Will is of her, no amount of sweet talking would have deterred him before he knocked some sense into Tolbert.

Will's grip on Lyla's elbow is firm as he leads her away from the McCoy's, out toward to the edge of the tents and booths where less people linger and there's more room to talk.

Digging her heels into the soft earth below, Lyla forces Will to stop when she feels they've gone far enough, tugging her arm free.

"Will, we was just talkin." Lyla tells him. Trying to make him understand, make him see he's making something out of nothing.

Will turns back to her, same fire still burning in his blue eye as his gaze shoots out over to where the McCoy's are then back to Lyla.

"Yeah well, I don' like the way he was lookin at you." He grinds out through a tight jaw, letting out a deep huff before leaving the grounds and moving out toward the brush and trees. His feet heavy with spite.

Clutching her long skirt, Lyla takes off after him, her feet moving quick to keep up with his pace and long stride.

She hates seeing Will mad. Hates feeling like she stirred up a hornet's nest for reasons she's not sure she fully understands. If Lyla didn't know better, she'd think Will was jealous, because ever since he started looking at her differently, Lyla's not always sure what's going on in his head.

"And how was he lookin at me?" Lyla questions him.

She knows Will's protective, but she'd never seen him look like that before. Then again he'd never really seen her talking to another boy who wasn't kin before.

She's no fool, she's noticed the way Will looks at her sometimes. With that intense gaze of his that can make her feel like she were sitting over a fire pit. Other Hatfields have noticed it too, Lyla's caught them teasing him about it from time to time, but Will's never made a move beyond that, so she isn't sure what to make of any of it.

"Like you were a damn meal." He grumbles out before turning to spit as if the words left a vile taste in his mouth, stomping into a set of trees and moving deeper into the forest surrounding them.

His shoulders are tight as Lyla works to keep pace with him. His tone sharp and his breathe heavy as he works through his anger.

"Well it's not I'm spoken for, now is it?" Lyla points out and instantly regrets her choice of words as Will abruptly stops and turns back quick onto her.

"You wanna end up with a McCoy now?" He practically spits out, giving her a look as if she'd grown two heads.

"Course not," Lyla's quick to dismiss. Letting out a heavy breath as they finally stop. She hates seeing him like this, all wound up. She never would have talked to that boy if she'd known it would bother him this much.

Lyla's eyes sweep around her as she realizes she followed Will farther into the woods than she'd planned. Knowing her Pa and Uncle Anse wouldn't approve of them alone by themselves, but she couldn't leave him like this.

Turning back to Will, Lyla aims to ease the tension coursing through him as she tries to explain it without making the whole thing worse.

"Alls I'm sayin is I ain't spoken for. Boys are s'pose to wanna talk to me, Will. How else am I s'pose to snag a husband? Is' hard 'nough as it is." Lyla explains it as rationally as she can.

Girls her age were supposed to land a husband. Hell, some were already engaged, but things were different for Lyla. She was more than pretty enough, people told her so, but she and her brother were born on the wrong side of the bed. Didn't matter her Pa was gonna marry her mama after she came along, only to have her ma die bringing Lyla into this world. Didn't matter she were raised by her Pa and carried his name.

Lyla came from outside the sacred confines of marriage, and no amount of pretty was gonna make her a suitable enough for most boys to court.

Hard as that truth is, it didn't bother her nearly as much as she knows it should, because truth be told, there was only one boy she wanted to court her. One boy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He just hadn't made a move.

"He's not good enough for you…" Will says firmly with a quick shake of his head for emphasis.

Pulling his hat from his head with a quick hand, letting the sun hit his face through the trees as he lets out a long heavy breath before his piercing eyes fall back onto her.

"Hell, I don't know if any man is."

Coming from anyone else that line would have been rich. Johnse would have delivered it with a shit eating grin on his face and a voice so smooth girls county wide would be willing to let him get up under their skirts.

But when Will says it his voice is raw with honesty as he looks at Lyla with such sincerity she suddenly finds it hard to breathe.

Lyla's doesn't fancy herself impulsive, but like all Hatfield's, she's got passion in her veins and fire in her belly.

And standing before Will as his blonde hair falls all messy around his handsome face, the intensity in his sterling blue eye as it pierces her from just feet away, has Lyla doing the most bold thing she's ever done.

Without a word, Lyla steps to him, leaning up, she captures his lips. There's no denying she surprised him. She can feel him tense beneath her lips, but seconds later, Will's giving in. Kissing her back, slowly, cautiously as if he's afraid if he's not careful he might overwhelm her. Lyla's arms tangle around his neck as she feels Will's arms wined around her waist.

A spark of electricity shoots through her body with his kiss and she knows he feels it to as he pulls her closer to him, kissing her harder. All thoughts of decency or fear of being caught, never enter her mind. All Lyla knows in that moment, all she can sense is Will and how alive she feels. More alive than she's ever felt before. Like a part of her she didn't know was coming to life.

Lyla feels a strange intoxicating heat wash over her as her skin flushes. A breathy sound she's never heard herself make slips past her lips as Will's tongue strokes her bottom lip. The sound of it makes Will clutches Lyla tighter, pulling her flush against him. His other hand tangling into her hair to hold her close as a heavy breath burst from him.

Lyla feel a change in him, a change in the hunger of his kiss and touch, but just as quickly as it's there, it's gone, as Will's hands find the sides of her waist to hold her steady as pulls away to break the kiss.

Will's breath sounds heavy and uneven as his forehead rests against hers. Will's hands release her, but he won't meet Lyla's eyes as he slowly creates more distance with his face hung low.

When he finally looks back up at her there's a dark heated wanting in his gaze. It makes her belly flutter and her skin feel flush, but then Will looks away as he gently pulls her hands free from around his neck.

"I think we betta head back." Will says, his breath deep and husky in a way Lyla's never heard before as he steps around her, snatching up his hat from the ground before heading back toward the event.

Lyla turns to follow him and finds Will waiting, but he doesn't look at her. Lyla's heart would ache if she didn't feel his fingers dance faintly across her wrist as they walk side by side.

It's then that she realizes why Will's keeping his distance, because things were getting heated back there. If either of their Pa's had seen them, surely they would have tanned their hides.

And unlike Johnse and the mess he got Roseanna into, Lyla knows Will would never do anything that could put her in a predicament, that would dishonor her. No matter how badly he may want to.

Moving back toward the festivities Lyla can hear commotion all around. Hollering voices, feet stomping and a deep sense of dread fills her belly.

She'll realize all too soon what's happened to her Pa while she was away and that leaving the woods set wheels into motion she'll never be able to undo.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** As someone who works in the mental health field, I really tried to apply what I know about grief and depression to the flashback in this chapter. And how both grief and depression are really life changing. They can make us do and become people we never thought we would. This story picks up where the last one left off, with the conversation at the Hatfield homestead, after Will, you and, Johnse went outside. Flashbacks at the bottom. Also, I've never written this time period before, so I apologize if I'm writing is historically off.

I also want to give a huge thanks to those who left reviews Mugshot shotglasses, Heartless-Princess33, Nicole, HanPan879, RhondaL, and two guest! For a mini series that came out several years ago, I was not expecting this kind of support. I wasn't sure I'd get any reviews. So honestly, Thank you!

I hope this story line makes sense. I prefer to imply things rather than throw things in your face, but if there's any confusion, please let me know.

* * *

 **Part 2**

As soon as Johnse was outta ear shot, Lyla turns to Will.

"Why 're you doin this?" She asked plainly, keeping her voice purposefully low as she search his face for answers in the dimming light.

Will looks down at Lyla suddenly, finally meeting her eyes, and all she sees is stubborn and steel staring back at her.

"S'ones gotta." He answers curtly, before moving swiftly across the porch, his boots heavy against the old boards.

Lyla lets out a heavy sigh. Damn him. He's too good to her. Too good of a man. Too loyal for his own good.

He's been there for her through every tribulation in her life and she can see now he's determined to see her through this one too.

Following him over to the side of the porch, Lyla leans her back against the railing Will's arms rest on.

Sweeping her gaze all around to make sure no one's nearby to hear her, she turns back, her hand reaching out for him.

Her fingers take hold of his firm jawline, the tiny hairs pricking at her fingertips as she draws his face to hers.

"Will." Lyla called before he meets her gaze willingly.

"It's not yer mess" Lyla tells him softly, her eyes reaching out to him.

Without a word, Will reaches for her hand, drawing it to his mouth where his lips sweep gently across her knuckles.

A slow smile tugs on his face as he gazes upon her, the one that always makes Lyla weak in the knees.

Releasing her hand, he tenderly sweep his thumb across her cheek.

"It's my kin though, ain't it?"

Lyla bites her bottom lip to fight back the tears that wanna form under the weight of his stare, under the weight of his tenderness toward her, as she steadily nods her head in response.

Lyla loves this man. Lyla's loved him since before she knew what love was.

And that's why she can't bear to let him sacrifice himself and his future for her.

It was always supposed to be her and Will ending up together. Lyla knew it since the first time she imagined herself a wife, but this changed everything.

Letting him take her and this baby on. Letting him raise it as his own. Lyla loved Will too much to put that on him.

"You don' know what yer doin. Don know what yer signin' yerself up for." Lyla's breath quivers as she tries to set him free while he's insisting on throwing himself in the line of fire for her.

"You 'member that time when we was just kids 'n I took my Pa's gun 'n went down by the river without askin?" Will asked, changing the subject so quick it took Lyla a minute to follow and then recollect what he was talking about.

As the memory came back to her, she slowly nodded unsure where this was leading.

"Pa was madder than a hornet's nest when he figur'd that one out." Will recalls with a low whistle.

"but you lied tellin' 'em it was your idea. Said you begged me to do it. I still got a whoopin' but it wasn' nearly as bad as it woulda been." Will wraps up his story and she finally understand the point he's trying to make.

"Will we was just kids and that was a silly lie. This is yer life we're talkin about here." Lyla said, trying to make him see the two were not comparable.

Will lets out a heavy sigh, slowly shaking his head from side to side as if Lyla don't understand, he was in this with her.

Lifting off the railing of the porch, he turns to her fully. His hands suddenly around her cheeks, gently cupping her face as he stares down into her eyes with such sincerity and intensity Lyla can't look away.

"I saw the look in yer eyes that night. When you said you couldn' marry 'im. Said you couldn' bear it… Now ya don' have to Darlin'." Will finished unflinchingly, his eyes reaching for her before he leans down to place a soft kiss upon her forehead.

Pulling back, Will moves to the front of the porch. Moves down the steps till he lowers himself onto one. His eyes scanning out over the field and into the dense woods as nightfall takes hold over the ridge.

* * *

 **Four and a half months earlier…**

Lyla hadn't spoken much in days besides to Cotton. It was her job to watch over him now and she took it very seriously.

She did her chores without complaint. Helped Levicy anyway she could around the house and with the kids since they took Lyla and Cotton her hands busy. Little time for her mind to idle.

But Lyla's mouth… her mouth didn't have much to say these days. This was something words couldn't fix.

Lyla didn't sleep much either. Can't close her eyes without seeing that hot musky room, pungent with the stench of her Pa's blood. The sound of her Pap's labored wheeze every time he struggled to take a breath.

Lying cold and clammy on that bed with stab wounds and a bullet hole littering his abdomen. His blood smeared all over his pale skin, staining everything it touched, staining her. The fear of God in her brother's eyes as he sat steadfast beside her by his bedside until her Pa's strong chest stopped trembling anymore.

Lyla keeps her head down and her grief to herself. There's no room for weakness in this family. Though she knows she ain't the only one feeling the loss.

Lyla cares for her brother with envy. He's so much stronger than her, so much more resilient. He misses his Pa something desperate, he tells Lyla often, but he's coping.

That big light of his too bright for anything to snuff out. Even losing Pa. Lyla wishes she was as strong as him.

It's Levicy who suggests Will take Lyla, Cotton and the younger ones down to the river. The day was hot and the water would be cool. Chores were done and dinner didn't need to be started yet, timing was right.

Lyla's aunt was a good woman, she could see the pain Lyla was struggling with in her eyes, and Lyla could see the concern in hers.

Everybody knew if anyone could coax a smile out of Lyla, it'd be Will.

The sun was hot that day and the air thick as Lyla rested on a rock along the river's edge.

Watching as Nancy and Mary tip toed along the water covered stones giggling as they went, while Robert E and Cotton tried to catch crawfish along the murky shore. Will had wandered off, Lyla weren't sure where.

Lyla wasn't much for laughing and carrying on these days. Sitting on the sidelines, watching as life carried on for others was enough for her.

Lately everything felt too dull and gray to light a spark in her. She didn't see the point in much anymore. She went through the motions, doing what was expected of her, but none of it mattered, very little brought her joy.

A shadow suddenly towered over Lyla, blocking the sun that was warming her skin just before she felt a hand slip into her own.

Giving her hand a gentle tug, Lyla turned to see Will smiling down at her. That big toothy grin of his that could make something inside her come back to life if only for a moment.

His lips curled as he pulls her to her feet and tugs her toward him. Lyla's not sure what he's doing, but she lets him take the lead, because whatever it is, he seems pretty eager.

She willingly follows until he starts pulling her away from the water and towards the tree line. Only then do Lyla start to pull back.

"I don' wanna leave Cotton by the water." Lyla tells him. Her heart starting to hammer in her chest with the mere thought of it.

Ever since losing her Pa a week and a half ago Lyla's been plagued by terrible thoughts of losing Cotton too. Every time he's near something that could go awry, her heart starts pounding, her breath picks up, her mind always stirring up just how badly things could turn. Whipping her up into a panic.

Lyla couldn't bear it if something happened to him. She couldn't bear to lose him. He was all she had left.

The look in Will's eye softens, seeming to see Lyla's worries. Reaching out, he gently strokes her cheek with his thumb. His callused skin rough enough to remind her she's still alive.

Lyla swears Will sees more with his one good eye than most do with two. And ever since her Pa died, he's been keeping close.

"Nance!" Will hollered, looking over her shoulder.

She glances back to see Nancy's face whip up and look over their way before Lyla hears Will again.

"Keep an eye on 'erybody. We'll be right back." He calls.

"A'right" Nancy hollers back, but Lyla can see the question in Nancy's narrowing gaze as Will start tugging her toward the trees.

"Gotta show you somethin'." He explained as Lyla turns back.

Will leads her into the trees, old, thick, and as tall as the eyes could see. Lyla clutches his hand tighter and feels him return her squeeze.

He leads her just a litter further, she can still clearly hear the river running nearby, the sound of her brother's laughter breaking through the forest, setting Lyla's heart at ease, before Will stops and turns to her, something mischievous in his eye.

Lyla waits unsure what's got him so excited, till he steps to the side and she realizes it's a raspberry bush behind him.

"Yer favorite." He said, grin spreading on his face as he watches her, waiting on her reaction.

Lyla nods feeling touched. "You 'membered." She said almost breathlessly as a smile fills her face.

Surprised he would remember something so simple, but he's been trying so hard lately. Trying to pull her out of the hole she's found herself face first in.

"Course," Will nods, as if it's a given he'd know her favorite berry.

His gaze fixes upon her every move. Watching her like she hung the moon as his smile turns to a deeper smirk.

The weight of his stares makes Lyla's belly tingle as she plucks a few berries off the branch.

"I missed that." He says suddenly, a glint in his eye as his smirk holds steadfast.

"What?" Lyla questions, glancing back up at him, unsure what he means.

The look in Will's eyes takes Lyla captive, nearly steals her breath before he speaks again. "Yer smile."

Lyla feels her cheeks grow hot, her belly fluttering against the look in his eyes. He always has this unmistakable way of getting to her.

Dropping her gaze down to the bush, trying to contain the blush on her cheeks, Lyla plops a berry in her mouth and savors the taste. Sweet and tart all at once, her favorite. Her Pap's too. He always said Lyla got that from him.

A memory filled Lyla's mind with the thought. A memory from a long time ago, on a hot summer day in the Appalachians, when she and Cotton was just kids.

Sitting out under the sun on a blanket while her and Cotton took turns trying to toss raspberries at their Pa and seeing if he could catch them in his mouth. Lyla could still hear Cotton's high pick laugh mixed with their Pa's hearty chuckle as he bobbed around the blanket, missing more than he caught.

Her Pa was always laughing, always smiling.

Lyla's throat instantly tightened, her heart physically ached within the confines of her chest…

She was never going to see that smile again…

She was never going to hear that laugh...

Her Pa's death felt like a hole cut out inside her. A hole nothing and nobody could fix. It felt like an unrelentingly void sucking up everything good.

Losing her Pa changed something in Lyla. Something a part of her she didn't even know was there until it was gone and all she could do was feel it's absence.

Lyla can vaguely feel the warmth of tears streaming down her face, but she doesn't really realize she's crying until she feels Will pull her against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her.

A shuttered breath rips past Lyla's lips and rattles her chest as she buries her face in Will's flannel covered chest.

Lyla feels his arm wrap tightly around her back, his other hand slipping into her hair, cradling the back of her head. His cheek nuzzles her hair, he surrounds her, so close she feel his warm breath on her scalp.

"Shhhh… I got you." He tries to sooth as Lyla feels his lips on the crown on her head.

Lyla clings to Will, fisting the flannel shirt at his back. Burying her nose deep against Will, sucking in his scent of gunpower and pine, and something distinctly him.

"What happen' that day justice was served?" Lyla asked, never pulling back from the comfort of Will's arms.

Wanting to hate those McCoy brothers after what they stole from her, what they stole from Cotton, but hate is a tricky thing that does little to sooth her grief

Lyla feels Will's muscles tense slightly around her before he shakes his head lightly against hers.

"Is' done." He answers, holding his secrets to himself.

Will did what was expected of him, Lyla's pretty sure he's never killed a man before that day and knowing Will the way she does, Lyla knows that's got to weigh on him.

He's strong, silent, but she saw the subtle change after he came back from those woods. Lyla didn't want to pry, but there's things she feels she needs to know.

"Did they have remorse? Did they say 'nything?" Lyla asked, pressing it a little more.

Will was silent for a long time. So long Lyla almost thought he wasn't gonna answer her.

"They didn' say nothin', but they was scared." He finally admits on a low gravel breath.

His fingers digging into her scalp as he nuzzles the crown of her head as if it comforts him in some way.

His answer doesn't bring Lyla solace. The same way it didn't when she first learned justice had been served.

That's the funny thing about justice. It settles the score, but it don't give you back what you lost.

Lyla's heart feels heavier, knowing Will's carrying the weight of what he did. Knowing in some part he did it for her. Took on that burden and carries it for her.

Pulling back just enough to find his face, Lyla reaches up to cup Will's cheek, scruff scratching at her palm as her eyes find and hold one another.

"I know that wasn' easy for you. Hope ya know yer still a good man William Hatfield." Lyla tell him, pressing her words, hoping they sink in.

"Always be a good one in my eyes."

Will gazes upon Lyla deeply for a long time, the look in his eyes doing that thing that always makes it hard for her to breathe naturally.

His gaze has a way of being so intense sometimes it's almost hard to take. His hand leaves her waist to cradle her face while the other stays tangled in her hair.

He leans down slowly, Lyla's belly tightening, unsure what he's going to do till he gently brushes his nose against her own.

Lyla's eyes fall closed with the intimacy of his touch as she clutches him tighter, brushing his nose in return. He rests his forehead against hers, Lyla feels his breath picking up under the closeness.

Lyla feels Will guide her backwards a few small steps till her back rests against a tree trunk.

Will completely surrounds her. She's lost in the feel of his thumb tenderly stoking her cheek, his fingers weaving through her hair as his hands cradle her face.

Lyla can feel Will's heavy breath on her lips, his forehead resting against her as he gently nuzzles her nose with his once again, his mustache tickling her skin.

Then Will's just holding her, Lyla holding him, all tangled together.

A deep breath shared between the two of them as his lips hover so close Lyla can feel the ghost of them.

Lyla's never felt so close to Will. Never felt so close to anyone. It's an intimacy she's never known before Will. An intimacy and connection she's been so desperate to feel since losing her Pa.

"Yer the only one..." Lyla whispered, the thought unfinished, too hard to define.

He was everything, the only one who could make this pain bearable, the only one… Lyla's heart pounds for Will as she holds him tightly, breathing him in.

"I'm here," Will whispers back, before moving up her face, smothering his lips against her forehead in a way he knows he shouldn't with her mouth.

Clutching Lyla tight, stroking her cheek one last time before he pulls away. Stepping back from her completely.

There's a darkness waiting for Lyla in Will's eyes again when she opens hers, the one she saw in the woods the day of the election.

It sends a shiver down Lyla's spine with the sight of it. She starting to understand what that look means.

After breaking her gaze, Will looks anywhere but directly at Lyla, trying to refocus himself. Being the gentleman she knows he's trying to be.

Lyla's heart starts to sink with a new set of emotions… guilt and remorse. Finally having a moment alone with Will for the first time since their kiss sends all Lyla's secrets floating up.

If he knew what she had done the week prior, Lyla's pretty sure he wouldn't of been holding her like that. It's never been spoken between them, but Lyla knows what she and Will have means something. Will's different with her than anyone else. Always has been, but even more so now.

Losing her Pa, watching him slowly suffer and die had changed something in Lyla. And the grip this grief has upon her has changed her too.

Lyla's not who she was before and nothing proves that more than the unspeakable thing she did a week prior.

Guilt surges through Lyla with a vengeance when she thinks about her soiled hands. She should of never followed Johnse up to his cabin by the still. Should of never drank some of his whiskey when he offered it. Trying to drown their sorrows like two fools. She didn't know how to hold your liquor.

Lyla should of never been alone with Jonce, not in her right mind. But her Pap had died three days prior. Been savagely murdered trying to keep the peace while she was off kissing Will. Maybe being there wouldn't have made a difference, but Lyla will never know and that's what haunted her.

Trying to nurse twenty-six stabs wounds and a gunshot as she watched the life drain out of her Pap broke something inside her.

Misery loves company and Johnse was in no better shape. Always a soft heart, he was sinking under the weight of his guilt over what he and their kin had done to Roseanna's brothers as retribution. Knowing she'd never forgive him for being a part of killing her brothers. He hadn't even been allowed to see his own baby.

A week ago Lyla and Jonce hadn't shown up home till well after dark. Will had already gone looking for them and her uncle Anse had been blinding mad.

Johnse had lied that night, said her showed up at the cabin upset and fell asleep after a fit of tears. Said, she were so upset he didn't want to wake her and that's why they got home so late.

Will showed no signs of disbelief, but Uncle Anse and aunt Levicy had doubt in their eyes when the story was told.

Anse had more than a few words to say on the matter, but settled on making it clear to Jonce they weren't to go off alone together again.

Lyla figured they were letting her off lite on account of everything she'd already been through that week.

When all was said and done, Lyla and Johnse shared a silent promise that night to never speak of the incident again. And Lyla intended to do just that, steering clear of her oldest cousin ever since.

As the days passed, Lyla pushed that secret down deep inside her. So deep she hoped one day it would disappear entirely.

Be erased, undone like she wishes it would, but as Will takes her hand and starts to head back toward the river, she's starting to realize it ain't that easy or simple.

What she did, is like losing her Pa, it can't be undid. And Lyla's struggling to live with it all.

Stopping suddenly, Lyla forces Will to as well. He looks back at her in anticipation before she speaks.

"Why 're you always pullin' away first?" Lyla boldly asked a question ladies aren't supposed to, searching his eyes for truths. Not sure she has a right to even call herself a lady anymore anyway.

Lyla knows Will isn't sinless. She knows he frequents the tavern with Jim and Johnse, full of whiskey and whores. Whores Lyla knows he's is no stranger to.

And after the line she crossed last week, a part of her is mad, mad at herself and maybe little him too. Knowing if she were gonna tarnish herself, it should have been for him. And needing to know why he can cross that line with others, but never tries to cross it with her.

Will looks at Lyla long and hard, something undefinable stirring in his eyes as he gazes down on her before he finally speaks.

"Cuz I don' trust myself 'round you 'n I couldn' live with it if I did you wrong." He answers honestly, the shift in his eyes as he speaks sending heat washing over her.

That look and his words echo of things his lips won't say, that what they share means something, she means something.

And knowing that weighs heavy on her. Lyla knows the truth would hurt him and the last thing she wants in this world is to hurt him.

Turning back before this conversation can go any further, he starts toward the river, tugging Lyla along, her heart heavy.

Wishing she could take it all back, terrified of losing him completely.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Just like before the chapter starts at the end of the last one, still centered around Lyla's secret coming to light. I hope this chapter explains Will "Cap's" reasoning a little better as to why he's taken this upon himself. In case it wasn't already clear.

I want to thank everyone who left feedback... RhondaL, Mugshot shotglasses, kfarm9, HanPan879, Nirvana14

Feedback is greatly appreciated. I love to know what you think works and what doesn't. What you like and what you hate. Thanks again!

* * *

 **Part 3**

Will lets out a heavy sigh, slowly shaking his head from side to side as if Lyla don't understand, he was in this with her.

Lifting off the railing of the porch, he turns to her fully. His hands suddenly around her cheeks, gently cupping her face as he stares down into her eyes with such sincerity and intensity Lyla can't look away.

"Yes, I do. I saw the look in yer eyes that night. When you said you coun't marry 'im. Said you couln't bear it… Now ya don' have to Darlin'." Will finished unflinchingly, his eyes reaching for her before he leans down to place a soft kiss upon her forehead.

Pulling back, Will moves to the front of the porch. Moves down the steps till he lowers himself onto one. His eyes scanning out over the field and into the dense woods as nightfall takes hold over the ridge.

* * *

 **Four Days Prior To The Revelation…**

The smell of the roasted ham dinner was enough to make Lyla's stomach turn. She had felt a gag deep in her throat as she finished preparing it, but managed to hold it back until she was finished.

Getting her Aunt Levicy's permission to go check the animals are all locked up for the night, Lyla moved for the door to get some the look she gave Lyla, the knowing in her eyes, it sent a shiver down Lyla's spine as she headed out to the barn.

Levicy was catching on and Lyla's time was running out.

Lyla clutched her jacket tight against her body for warmth as a chill ran through her and her shoes sloshed in the murky slush snow. It was December, the air was frigid after sun down and the ground had already begun to collect with winter snow from the storm that blew in the night prior.

Lyla managed to make it to the big barn before bursting into tears. Hanging her lantern off an old rusty nail, she covers her hand over her mouth to stifle the cries that will only echo in the quiet barn, hoping the dim light will disguise her hunched form if anyone happen to followed.

Lyla doesn't know how long she's been out there, losing herself to the grips of fear before a voice picks up behind her.

"Everything alright?" His voice eerily clear in the night.

Lyla spins around to find Will standing near the entrance of the barn. Rapidly she wipes at her tears as she meets his gaze.

"Why're you cryin' out here, Darlin'?" He gently asked, concern softening his face as he moved to her, letting the barn door swing closed as he does.

"Come 'ere," Wil beckoned on approach, reaching for her arms as he pulls her into his embrace.

He smells of gun powder and pine as Lyla buries her face against his chest. The feel of his arms around her, one clutching her back as the other laces into the hair around the nape of her neck, for a moment Lyla feels safe, she feels loved.

"It's gonna get easier, I promise. It won' hurt like this forever." Will whispers against the crown of Lyla's head before placing a tender kiss against her hair.

Ever since her Pa died he's been like a shadow. Watching her, ready to catch her if she falls. Will knows what her Pap meant to Lyla. Knows how his loss has been devastating.

But no matter how much comfort Lyla finds in the hold of his arms, no matter how much it sooths her soul, she knows she don't deserve it.

"I ruined everything." Lyla finally starts to confess against the flannel of his shirt. Breaking against the softness of his comfort.

"What?" Will asks, Lyla's words muffled against his shirt.

Pulling herself free of his embrace, Lyla wipes the tears streaking her cheeks and fights to hold the new ones back.

"I ruined everything." She repeats, tears brimming her eyes as she gazes upon the man she loves knowing she's destroyed any chance he'll ever be hers.

"What 'er you talkin' 'bout?" Will questioned, uncertainty filling his eyes.

Lyla moves further back when he reaches for her. Shaking her head to hold him at bay as she wraps her arms around herself, because she doesn't deserve him.

"I didn't mean for this to happen. I need you to know that…" Lyla can't finish as her breath quivers despite her best efforts to stop it. Her heart feels like it's going to beat right out of her chest.

Will eyes Lyla carefully. Realizing there's something more afoot here than losing her Pa. He knows her as well as she knows him, and the signs are clear, something new and tragic has transpired.

"What's goin' on Lyla?" The caution on his breath tells her he's probably as scared to hear what she has to say as she is to say it.

Lyla hasn't told a soul, but she hates lying to him. She's never kept something like this from him before and it's been killing her.

At first she even denied it to herself. She told herself it was the heartbreak of losing her Pa. All the worry that's been circling her family since. Hoping if she just pretended it wasn't happening it would go away.

But that was foolhardy, because she's finally come to realize this mistake isn't going away and sooner or later everyone is going to find out.

Staring at Will in the dimly lit barn as his eyes search hers for the truth, Lyla knows she needs to tell him. After everything they've been through, everything he means to her, he deserves to hear the truth and he deserves to hear it from her.

Taking a deep shaky breath, Lyla prays her tongue wont fail her.

"I'm with child." Lyla whispers, like delivering a death blow no one saw coming

Lyla can't look away as Will stares at her stunned silent. Shock washing over his face as his eyes narrow in confusion.

"Yer what?" He breathes out, astonishment thick on his breath.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Will." Lyla pleads through tears, unable to say it again, she knows he heard her the first time.

Taking a step back from her, Will begins to pace about the barn, this feet moving heavy and quick against the dirt and hay floor before he stopped suddenly.

"Who?" He growled.

Lyla shakes her head, trying to save him from a truth that'll only hurt him worse. "Don' matter."

"Like hell it don'!" Will spits back, getting firm with her. He stops pacing right in front of Lyla, taking hold of her shoulders, Will looks her dead in the eye as he searches for the truth.

"Who Lyla?"

She can hear the horses begin to kick at the dirt and hay lining their stalls, growing uneasy with the tension growing thick in the air.

Lyla braces herself to lose him. Will's been mad at her before, but never for long. This it'll be different though. Lyla knows this is too much to forgive.

She sucks in a deep breath for bravery and delivers the final blow to the man she loves.

"Johnse." Lyla answers barely above a whisper, her eyes squeezing shut with regret. Lyla hears a deep huff leave Will with her answer. Only then does she open her eyes.

"Johnse," He snarls, his lip curling with disgust and spite as he lets go of her, but it's the look in his eyes that gets to Lyla.

Like she socked him in the gut and took the wind right out of him. Even his white waters up before he turns from her without a word further and storms out of the barn.

Lyla's knees buckle under the weight of breaking Will's heart as she lowers herself onto a stack of hay, tears falling.

All she ever wanted was to be Will's. To be Mrs. Will "Cap" Hatfield, and instead she did the one thing that would ensure that would never come to be and broke his heart doing it.

He'd always been her favorite, even as kids. Something about Will always drew Lyla to him, like a moth to a flame and Will always seemed to feel the same.

As kids, they were always tagging along after each other, but as she got older things began to change, the way time has a way of doing.

There was only ever one person Lyla could picture spending her life with and she just watched him walk out of that barn and possibly her life for good.

Lyla buries her face in her hands, hating herself more than she can ever recall feeling in her life.

A part of her wants to run. Get on a horse and never look back. Save her family the shame, save Will the lingering torture of watching her belly grow, but where would she go? How would she survive?

And what about Cotton? Lyla couldn't bear to leave him and she knows darn well, her family would come looking for her anyway.

The sound of stomping feet makes Lyla look up, wiping her face as fast as she can, she tries her best to stifle her tears.

Half expecting to find her uncle Anse come looking for her, trying figure out why Will's pummeling his brother, but to Lyla's sheer surprise, it's Will.

He stops a few feet in front of her. His eyes red and glassy, his breathe heaving as he delivers a single question he has to know.

"Why Jonhse? …I thought we- You kissed me." He huffs out, hurt blinding in his gaze.

Slowly Lyla shakes her head, lowering her face in shame.

"That kiss meant everything me to, Will. You mean everything… This wasn't suppose'ta happen. I got no good reason for what happen with Jonce…" Lyla starts as she recounts the worst mistake she ever made.

It all still seemed so unclear in her mind when she tries to remember. Lyla explained how foggy, fuzzy and disjointed the memories were, like a dream.

Told him she found Johnse moping on the road to the house before following him back to his cabin.

Told him she knows now that was a mistake. Johnse had already been drunk. And grief stricken about her Pa, it hadn't taken too much convincing for her to follow his lead and start drowning her sorrows in whiskey like her older cousin.

Lyla hesitantly explained it all started, because she had been crying when Johnse pulled her to him. Silent tears brimming his eyes too as he held her close to his chest.

Lyla vaguely remembered his hand running up and down her back. But then somewhere along the way he kissed her, because he's a damn fool.

But so was she. Cuz lost as she was, on whiskey and a broken heart, Lyla didn't push him away. Like a fool, she had followed his lead.

Let herself disappear on the empty promise of not having to be hollow for a little while. But unlike Will, Johnse never had no decency or enough good sense to know when to say when.

Lyla doesn't tell Will she wasn't the one to start the whole mess. She tries not to place blame. She knows she's just as guilty as Johnse, maybe more.

She don't tell him, that Johnse was gentle, but the sharp pain of it is what she remembers more clearly than the rest.

Or that when she awoke after nightfall, finally sober to find herself in only her slip and Johnse even less, the first thing she did was cry and she didn't really stop crying until they almost made it home.

But she does tell him, she and Johnse shared a promise to never speak of the incident. And Lyla intended to do just that until it came back to haunt her.

And she tells him that for all the fawning Johnse gets from the girls in these parts, he never caught her eye. Lyla admits she's fond of Jonce. Loved him as her kin, but she's only ever had eyes for one boy.

When Lyla finally finishes, and looks back up at Will she can see a fire lit in his gaze, his jaw tense as he flexes it and she knows he didn't like what he heard one bit.

"I'ma kill 'im." Will snarled, clearly feeling Johnse did wrong by her, he turns back and starts storming toward the barn door.

He doesn't make it far though before Lyla races around to the front of him, blocking his way. Her hands find his chest, pushing him back as best she can considering he's several inches taller and outweighs her by at least sixty pounds.

"Johnse don' know and you can't tell 'im. You can't!"

Will stopped with that bit of news, his eyes barreling down on Lyla as she pleaded her case to the only person she trusts with it.

"I can't do this Will. When everyone finds out they're gonna make me marry Jonce, I jus' know it. I can't be Mrs. Jonhse Hatfield. I can't! I couldn't bear it, ya understand?" The tears are hot on Lyla's cheeks again as she wildly fists his flannel shirt, finally saying everything that's been spinning and building in her head for months.

Johnse aint a bad guy. Lyla loves her cousin, he's was her second favorite cousin before all this, but she's not blind to his condition, he's a fool and a philanderer. And Lyla knows he don't love her in that sense anymore than she does him.

She couldn't bear being stuck beside him till the end of her days. After what happened with Roseanna, knowing he'd be with other woman while she bore his children and watched Will from the sidelines, living with everything that could have been.

Lyla couldn't bear the thought of that future. It terrifies her, leaves a frantic desperation coursing through her veins as she pleads with Will as if he has the power to fix the unfixable.

In a sudden show of unwavering support, Will pulls Lyla to him, wrapping his arm around her back while with the other weaves his fingers into your hair as he pulls her impossible close.

"It's wasn't suppose to be this way. It wasn't suppose to be him. I'm so sorry I hurt you Will." Lyla clings to him as if she's afraid when she lets go that'll be the end of it and he'll be lost to her again.

Lyla's fingers dig into his back, fisting his shirt as she throws all caution to the wind in case this is the last chance she ever gets to be in his arms.

"I love you Will. I've always loved you. And I know that doesn't matter now. Not after what I did, but I needed you to know." Lyla confesses, her face buried in his chest as she says things a lady shouldn't say to a man who won't be her husband. Things she should only say in the confines of marriage or close to it.

But none of that matters anymore, because if this is all that she gets, she needs Will to know.

Lyla feels Will squeeze her back just as tight. She feels his mouth press against her hair for a long kiss.

She hears his deep gritty voice whisper words of comfort, even now, after everything, he's still trying to ease her pain. "Is' gonna be ok. We'll figure it out…"

Lyla don't know how long she stood there in the cold quiet barn, lost in Will. Afraid to let go and lose him forever.

A loud creaking noise finally ended it, sending a shiver down her spine as Will's lips spit out a name on a startled breath, quickly untangling from her and stepping back.

"Robert E." He called.

Following his lead, Lyla turns back to see Will's little brother standing in the doorway of the barn.

"Ma sent me to fetch y'all." He says, explaining himself as his eyes switch back and forth between her and Will as Lyla rapidly wipes away any lingering tears on her face.

With a nod, Will moves to leave first, creating space between the two of them as not to add any more attention than already has been drawn.

Lyla's heart pounds as she follows suit, moving to Robert E. Her cautious eyes searching her younger cousin as she tries to determine what he thinks he saw, but with a single statement, he's quick to put her fears to rest.

"It's ok Miss Lyla. I still miss him too." He says, offering her a sad halfhearted smile.

His words instantly setting her fears to rest. Knowing her secret is safe for another day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry for the long wait in an update. I really struggled with this chapter. So hopefully you like it and it was worth the wait. This chapter is very long. Sorry. I didn't plan it that way, but there was a lot to cover.

Also, I originally said, only four parts to this story. BUT I wrote a few more. So let me know if you'd like to see the story go on a little further or end here? Also, it's come to my attention this story is sort of like a romance novel. Not my style at all, but just sorta came out that way, and I guess it's fitting with the time period. From my stand point, I always imagined Cap would be soft with the woman he loves, his family, but guarded and harder to the outside world. With that said, does Cap feel out of character? Is he too cheesy, too devoted? What's your take?

I've never written this character before, and though I would have liked more of him in the mini series, I felt there were scenes that showed he could be both ruthless and have a softer heart underneath. But I'd love to know what you all think. Thanks!

* * *

"I saw the look in yer eyes that night. When you said you couldn' marry 'im. Said you couldn' bear it… Now ya don' have to Darlin'." Will finished unflinchingly, his eyes reaching for Lyla before he leans down to place a soft kiss upon her forehead.

Pulling back, Will moves to the front of the porch. Moves down the steps till he lowers himself onto one. His eyes scanning out over the field and into the dense woods as nightfall takes hold over the ridge.

Lyla's heart thumps in her chest. The feel of his lips still burning on her skin. The jolt of his kiss still humming through her veins.

Nobody's ever made her feel the way Will can. Like he knows every part of her. Can awaken even places she didn't know existed inside herself with a single touch.

Why couldn't she have remembered that that dreadful day? Why couldn't that truth have been more powerful than Johnse's bitter whiskey and the insatiable hunger of her grief.

Lyla moves to sit beside Will, wishing like so many times before that she could just take it all back. She lowers slowly onto the creaking step beside him, lifting her long skirt behind her legs as she goes.

Will glances over his shoulder, looking back at the house only muffled words of exchange have escaped out of since everybody was sent outside, and Lyla's reminded that regardless of what Will has just thrown himself in the middle of, her Uncle and Aunt hold all the cards.

As if sensing her thoughts or maybe she was just sensing his, the way the two have done so many times before, Will turns back to Lyla.

"I wan' you ta know no matta' what Ma n' Pa decide, yer not alone in this. I'm gonna stand by you." Will declares, his eyes piercing her, one blue, one white. The insistence on his breath almost enough to steal hers.

"Why 'er you doin all this for me?" Lyla finally eyes searching his, needing to hear the truth off his own lips.

Not the honorable reasons, not the loyal ones. The reason he's ready to take this on even if it means going against their family.

The reason he's willing to raise his brother's child as if it were his own and make an honest woman out of her. She has to hear it.

Holding her gaze, an undeniably sexy smile eclipses his face, like butter on a skillet, filling his good eye with an iridescent glow.

"Surely by now you know how I feel 'bout you." He answers with absolutely sincerity.

Lyla's cheeks burn against his smile and the weight of his stare as an impossibly happy grin finds her face. Finally getting the answer she needed. That he's as crazy about her as she is him.

Lyla wines her arm around his as she nestles in close to his side, resting her head upon his sturdy shoulder. Her face turns in toward his neck, soaking in the smell of musk and gun power as she gently nuzzle her nose and lips against his sensitive skin, while his hand comes up to tangle in her hair.

In that moment, Lyla don't know what she'd do without him. And while she don't know what's going to happen, for the first time since this nightmare started she feel like things might actually turn out alright.

"I still 'member that day Johnse brought you home. I'd been worried sick when you weren' back by dark. I wen' lookin fer ya but-" His words die suddenly with a heavy breath as his confession sends Lyla's heart aching and her arms clutching him a little tighter.

"I saw you that mornin' 'fore I left for the hills. I saw you cryin'. I shoulda gone to you 'steada taking off shootin'. But my head wasn' all right after the McCoy boys. But I a - I shoulda been there for you. Maybe if I had, none of this woulda happened." Will confesses on a heavy breath, Lyla's feels the weight of his words on his slumping shoulders as her face lifts from him and she gently tug his face her way.

"You listin' ta me Willian Hatfield. I was the fool. I was reckless. This ain't on you." Lyla tell him firmly, her eyes imploring his, trying to get him to let go of this nonsense. This burden ain't his.

"You needed somebody." He reminds her, taking on that burden, the look in his eyes piercingly vulnerable with the weight of that truth.

"I ain't yer responsibility." Lyla say softly, trying to unshackle this blame he's wrongly setting at his door.

Gazing deep into his eyes, Will slowly shakes his head.

"Yes, ya are, Darlin'." He corrects her, reaching to grab her hand from his face and pull it to his lips where he gives her knuckles a gentle kiss. "Yes, ya are."

They quickly pull apart as they hear the front door finally open. Both turning back over their shoulders to take a peak. Lyla sees her aunt Levicy standing in the door way.

"Come on," She beckons with a wave of her hand.

Not needing to be told twice, they both scurry up the steps and enter the house, but nerves start creepin back into her belly as soon as she lays eyes on her uncle Anse. Pipe between his lips, eyeing them both like an executioner about to hand down the sentence.

Levicy goes to stand by her husband as Lyla and Will stand side by side awaiting their fate. Removing his pipe, Anse clears his throat before he speaks.

"You both made a real mess a'things. Disgraced yerselves an' this family. Hell, I expected betta of both a you." He drawls out, his voice gritty and edging with anger.

Tears spring to Lyla's eyes as her face drops. Biting her lip to hold back the tears, she nods in agreement. Still can't believe she got herself into this mess. Lyla's only solace is her pap ain't around to see it. No matter she and her brother were born on the wrong side of the bed. She knows this news would have broken her Pa's heart.

Lyla wishes Will would take her hand, but she knows he can't. Neither of them can risk setting off Anse's anger more than it already is. No, she's gotta take this sentence on her own, because she knows as good as any, sometimes in life when you make a bed as you have, you just gotta lie down in it.

After a long pause and pull from his pipe, Anse shares a look with his wife. Lyla watches Levicy's give a subtle nod before he starts back up again.

"This familys got 'nough troubles already… But what's done is done. I'll be sendin' for Wall in the mornin'. Yer gonna make this legal, make it right, 'an then I don' wanna hear it spoken of 'gain."

His words sink in as wave of relief washes over Lyla and a breath she didn't know she was holding comes gasping past her lips.

In seconds, Will is pulling her to him, wrapping her in his arms as she clings desperately to him, as he places a brief kiss upon her head.

Breathing in the scent of gun powder and pine as her fingers dig into Will's back, and his warm breath fans against her scalp. The same words echo and vibrate through Lyla's head… Everythin's gonna be alright.

* * *

Levicy helps Lyla into her best dress. It was long with tiny blue flowers scattered all along the fabric, the sleeves went past her elbows with white lace ruffles at the ends and buttons down the front. Lyla's Pap had purchased for her birthday last year and she only had one other occasion to wear it before this.

The dress lay forgivingly on her, but the tapered waist felt tighter than she last remembered. Lyla tried to hide the shame from her face as her aunt tugs a little firmer at the fabric to button it.

The nicest dress she owns. It was a summer dress with buttons up the front and ruffling down at the bottom. Lyla's aunt and cousin Nancy tied her back in a twisted braid with a few wisps hanging down to frame her face.

For a wedding thrown together in a day, Lyla felt beautiful.

Levicy had just gone to check on preparations for the meal after the ceremony when the sound of boots on the floorboards sends Lyla and Nancy spinning around to see who's coming.

"Aunt Levicy says it's time." Lyla's brother calls from the door way, stirring both Lyla and Nancy.

"I'll go see if Mama needs a hand with anythin'." Nancy answers with an easy nod, giving Lyla and her brother a moment.

"Well jus' look at ya now, don' you look handsome." Lyla tells Cotton, taking his hand into her own as she draws him closer to her.

Tugging him into the light that's streaming in through the window, where she can get a better look at him. Admiring his matching slacks and button up vest, his clean button down shirt underneath.

Lyla hasn't seen him look this nice since election day when your Pap died. Seeing him now coupled with memory of that painful day leaves a bittersweet ache in her heart.

"Ya look beautiful." Cotton tells her, amazement thick on his breath as his pale blue eyes light up as he looks her over.

That smile and the innocence's that emanates off her brother's breath has Lyla reaching for him, pulling him into a tight hug. Her breath shutters against his shoulder as she clutches him tight, his arms wrapping tightly around her in return.

His joy reminds Lyla of days past… he always did have her Pa's smile. Seeing Cotton, holding onto him, Lyla realizes how badly she wishes her Pap were here.

How much she misses him, no less than the day he died, but she's also thankful and grateful the lord see fit to let her keep Cotton. Lyla can't imagine your life without him.

Pulling back from his arms, Lyla gently combs the hair back from his forehead, tending to him like she's done since she was just a little girl. It's moments like this he feels more like her child than her brother, as Lyla gently cups his cheek and find his soft eyes once again.

"I'm so happy yer here." Lyla tells him on a rattled emotion thick breath as a tear slips free. Unable to hold back the love and loss making waves inside her.

She'd give her right arm to have her Pa here today. Lyla never imagined her wedding without him, but she also can't help but count her blessings knowing she at least have Cottton.

"Don' be sad, sissy." Cotton tells her, the smile falling from his face as he wipes the tear from her cheek.

"I'm not, Cotton. I promise." Lyla reassures him, taking his hand into hers and giving it a good squeeze.

Looking at him now, that innocence of his that nothing and nobody can steal, he seems more childlike than a man nearly Cap's age.

And with everything about to change, Lyla needs him to know she would never leave him behind. No matter what turn of events her life is about to face.

"Listen Cotton, we haven' had time to talk much with everythin' happenin' so fast, but I wan' you to know nothin' changes between us. I'm always gonna be here. Is' always gonna be me and you. You understand?" Lyla tells him, needing him to know that no matter what happens she'll always be there for him.

She may have a baby growing inside her belly and a heart about to be promised to Will for life, but nothing changes the bond her and Cotton have.

Nothing changes the promises she made long ago to always look after him. And Lyla doesn't want him to worry about none of that now.

"With Cap?" Cotton corrects her, her Pa's smile filling his face as he seems to grow excited by the idea.

A smile begins to grow on her own too as Lyla nods in agreement. "Yes, with Cap."

"You love 'im." Cotton says, his eyes holding hers, smile still from cheek to cheek. And it's moments like these Lyla swears Cotton is smarter than everybody. That he sees things most peoples brains have made them blind to.

Too much thinking, not enough feeling.

Lyla's smile grows blinding wide on her face with his statement. Unable to deny the way it fills her heart like it's ready to burst.

"I do… and I love ya too. Always." Lyla promises, leaning over to place a quick kiss on his pale forehead.

"I love ya too sissy." Cotton tells her back in the earnest way he so easily gives love. Making Lyla admire that big heart of his all the more.

"Wanna help me downstairs?" Lyla asks, wrapping her arm around his before he gives her a hearty nod and they both move for the door.

* * *

Lyla descends the stairs dressed to shine, the old wooden steps creaking beneath her feet, but there's only one pair of eyes she hopes to catch.

Her aunt Levicy and cousin Nancy really made her feel more special than anyone could have asked for under these circumstances and with no time to prepare. Braiding her hair and pinning it back from her face as wisps dance around her jaw and cheeks.

Lyla's dress slims down her figure forgivingly, none would be the wiser to the real reason behind her hasty marriage. Despite the situation and the means she's found herself here, Lyla feels beautiful.

A feeling that only grows as Will catches sight of her. Lyla spots him first, lost in conversation with Jim by the fireplace as she descends the stairs, but as he turns with the sound of her steps.

Lyla watches his words die, his jaw falls slack just a little, his eyes transfixed upon her for every step as her eyes hold unbreakably steady with his in return.

Lyla's heart begins to race with the thought that she's about to marry him. About to be his wife, finally his in the deepest sense of the word. A wish she had thought was all but lost before last night.

Lyla can't help but notice how handsome Will looks all cleaned up, in his Sunday best. She's not sure the last time she saw him in a button down, his hair combed to the side, clad in a pair of clean black trousers and matching buttoned up vest.

He reminds her of her uncle Anse and uncle Wall dressed up so finely as a smile creep up on her face.

Meeting Lyla at the base of the stairs, Will extends a hand. Giving her brother's arm a gentle squeeze of thanks and a quick kiss on the cheek, Lyla takes Will's hand as he draws her close.

His eyes are glued on her with a look of sheer wonder Lyla's sure her own face must mirror. In that moment, as they take the sight of each other in fully, everyone else in the room disappears, but the two of them. The rest of the world practically falls away.

Gazing up at him, Lyla swallows hard as Will's callused hand tenderly finds her cheek, sending tingles rippling beneath her skin with his touch.

"I do believe yer the mos' beautiful thing I've eva' seen." Will tells her, leaning in close near the shell of her ear, his voice deep and low, his words only for her.

Lyla's cheeks flush with heat under the charming grin curling on his lips and wonder in his gaze as he pulls back.

She gets lost in the magnetic quality of that smile and the way she could stare at it all day - until her uncle Anse's clears his throat, breaking the spell.

"…How we got into this damn mess to begin with." He grumbles low on his breath to her aunt Levicy, tugging at the pipe in his mouth before marching for the front door, signaling to everyone it's time to get on with it.

Will quickly releases the hold he has on Lyla's face with his father's disapproval. His smile dropping as he steps back from her, always obedient, always mindful.

Lyla's heart aches just a little with the exchange, wishing she could tell Anse just how honorable and obedient his son really is.

That despite how things look, he'd never dishonor her or this family, but Lyla knows that isn't possible without undoing this whole thing in the process.

So she drops herr gaze and tries to appear obedient as well instead, but as the rest of the family falls in line, moving for the open door, Will surprises her and leans in close to her ear once again, taking advantage of the moment.

"Almost mine, Darlin'" He whispers, pulling back before anyone can notice, causing a rush of heat to fill Lyla's face as he offers her his arm to which she gladly slip hers through. Never more sure of any decision in her life than the one she's about to make.

The air is crisp and cold on this winter day as Will and Lyla leave the house, trudging through the thin layer of tightly packed snow.

Her aunt Levicy and the girls arranged an area near the back of the property, past the main house and barn. Out where the mountains surround them as the clouds dance and sway within the valleys in the midday light.

Uncle Wall is waiting for her and Will as he leads them both over to the properties edge. Their arms intertwined as the sun peaks through the winter clouds hanging over head, bathing them both in warm rays of sunshine that feel like halos from above.

The morning had been overcast and dreary, but now the clouds have begun to break apart, raining heavenly lights down upon them and the few family members in attendance.

A wedding arranged this hastily only family members who lived in the Hatfield homestead or immediately nearby were in attendance. Anse made it clear, that as far as he was concerned the less people that knew about their transgressions the better.

Lyla overheard Anse grumbling to Will just this morning. Instructing him that if anyone was to inquire about the speed of their marriage that he was to say it was done to ensure her and Cotton were taken care of after her Pa's passing.

But the Hatfield's weren't a bunch of fools and even less would be confused about the sudden nuptials when her baby comes in the not too distant future.

And as much as that thought shames Lyla, knowing she'll have Will by her side when talk stirs up, leaves her unafraid to face it.

Moving across the snow-covered field, Uncle Wall pins them both on approach, his face set as his stern gaze sweeps between them. As a child, Lyla knew a lecture was coming with a stare like that, but standing here on this winter day, about to become Will's forever, not even Wall's glare can dampen Lyla's spirits.

"Thought you two were smarter than this." Uncle Wall admonishes with a shake of his head, only loud enough for the three of them to hear.

Lyla's throat tightens with a guilt she's still learning to sit with, but that feeling quickly quiets as Will pats her hand reassuringly.

"Jus' wanna make this right. Im gonna take good care 'er." Cap swears, meeting Uncle Wall's gaze dead on, man to man as Lyla's eyes drift onto the man she's about to marry, the man she's admired and wished for since she was just a girl, watching him in wonder. He truly is a good and just man.

Turning back, Lyla watches Uncle Wall's gaze sweep between them for a moment before he concedes with a steady nod.

"You better, son." He practically warns, before turning his gaze to her.

"An' this is what you wan' too lil' lady?" He asks, concern laced on this breath.

Lyla would never admit it aloud, but Uncle Wall was her favorite uncle. More gentle and open than Anse, he's been sweet to her her whole life, his baby brother's little girl. He was always buying her books, and talking with as if her thoughts mattered just as much as any mans did.

His question sends Lyla's eyes falling back on Will, his gaze waiting for her as she stares into one pricing blue eye, one beautifully milky, her heart thumping hard in her chest with assurance.

"Is' all I wan'." Lyla confesses, never more sure of anything.

"Well then, let's git to it." Uncle Wall agrees, opening up the thick book gripped heavy in his hands.

Lyla and Will turn to face each other. His hands tangle with her own as her eyes can't help but scan the snow-covered winter wonderland around her.

Mostly blank faces meet Lyla's gaze in return and instantly she wishes her Pap was there. Wish his gentle eyes were staring back at her.

Lyla spots Jim snickering to himself over a swig of whiskey before Anse shoots him a quick look that shuts him up quick. Levicy stands strong and silent, her arm wrapped around Anse as Lyla's uncle stares on, his face expressionless.

Nancy and Robert E stand amongst the children who fidget and stir, holding a strange knowing glint in their eyes as they meet her gaze. Lyla can only imagine what they must think was going on when they spotted her and Will alone in the past.

Everyone's quiet, resigned to the state of affairs, the awful truth, except her brother. Except her sweet Cotton. Only Cotton sees fit to hold a smile wide on his face as their eyes meet. Lyla's silver lining in any storm.

Then Lyla feels it, the gentle squeeze of her hands all tangled up in Will's big callused ones. Her eyes drift back to Will's and instantly the look in his gaze sucks her in, takes her captive in the moment.

The light of happiness in his eyes mesmerizes her, fills her heart with a joy she's never known. He hasn't said it yet, neither have Lyla, everything happened too fast, but in that moment, she can see it, he loves her.

Staring into his eyes Lyla knows, no matter the circumstances that brought them here, there's nowhere else she'd rather be.

The rest of the ceremony goes off without a hitch as Lyla stares lost in Will's eyes. No one else matters in that moment.

Lyla says 'I do' with a pounding in her heart, and when she hears the words ring off Will's lips they practically sound like I love you.

When Uncle Wall finally pronounces, them husband and wife, when Lyla's stares into Will's eyes, knowing she's his forever as he moves toward her in earnest, his steady hand finding her cheek as his face descends slowly to hers, Lyla feels it deep in her heart… Absolute peace.

* * *

A family gathering and small feast ensure after their nuptials. To honor Lyla and Will, despite the circumstances surrounding their marriage.

When her aunt Levicy asks Lyla to round up the lil ones before they catch a death of cold rolling around in the slush and snow outside she don't hesitate. Levicy and cousin Nancy have already done too much, fussing over a proper family meal, refusing Lyla's help as she stands about all dressed up.

Will's been steady by her side. The quiet touches against her hand or along her side making her crave more of him in way she's never felt before, but normally she'd be helping to prepare the meal and it don't feel right watching as they slave over it and not offer a hand.

So instead Lyla jumps at the chance to give a hand wherever she can, even if that means leaving Will's side.

Trudging out in the snow to gather up the little ones. The sun still shines, but it's lowering on the horizon and the clouds have begun to thicken, blocking out the suns warming rays more than they show.

Lyla's boots sink into the slush as she spots Levicy's youngest, Elliot. At barely two, the bottom of his little trousers are all soaked from the snow and slush that comes nearly halfway up his calf's and the front of his cloths are wet too, no doubt from tumbling as he tried to chase after the older ones.

Scooping him up, Lyla placed the toddler on your hip as she began to call the others children inside. Making a mental count of them all just to make sure they were all accounted for as they moaned and protested, but scurried inside.

Then Lyla feels it, that prick on the back of your neck when someone is watching you. Her eyes scan about and sure enough she spots Johnse coming down the porch steps.

His gaze steadies upon her, headed her way. Lyla clutched Elliot closer to her as her eyes hold with his, unable to look away.

"You make a beautiful bride." Johnse tells Lyla in a way she knows is him just being cordial.

Lyla and your cousin were once so close, he was always her favorite after Will. Could make he laugh like no one else, besides Will, but after what happened between them, Lyla don't know how to feel about him, don't know how to act.

What happened between the two of them still hurts her heart and what came of it she'll have to live with forever. Lyla don't hate him and she don't want to not trust him, but things ain't like they use to be.

Turning for the house Lyla starts up, breaking from his gaze as her eyes turn onto Elliot offering him a gentle smile.

"Thanks Jonce." She answers politely.

"Motherhood suits you, I do believe." Johnse tells her, following her over to the front steps.

A nervous edge creeps up her spine with his words as if they're laced with some hidden innuendo Lyla's afraid to face.

"Best git Elliot into the house 'for he gits sick." Lyla offers back. Trying to feigned a casual air as she tries her best to escape this time alone with Johnse. Her gut sensing whatever he has to say, it ain't gonna be good.

Lyla almost make it when Johnse suddenly grabs her arm on the front steps. His grip gentle, but halting as she's forced to turn back and meet his gaze.

"Listen, I was hopin' we could talk-" Johnse tells Lyla gently, his light blue eyes reaching for her before his words died against the sound of a new voice.

"Yer gonna catch a cold out here with no coat on, Darlin'." Lyla hears Will's voice coming up quick beside her as her face whips back around toward the front door.

Spotting Will moving to the step above her, Lyla feels a sigh of relief leave her lungs.

"I was just gittin' the children." She explains.

Coming up on Lyla, Will's hand slips around her back, running gently up and down her spine as he sends her a warming grin that always makes Lyla feel safe before his gaze drifts up to his brother.

"I was jus' goin' to gather up some more fire wood from the pile. Hows about you gimme' a hand, Jonce?" Will implores more than he asks as his hand leaves herr back and he moves toward his brother.

Lyla catches Johnse's gaze fleetingly as Will grabs at his brother arm, turning him back the other way and practically pulling him down the steps.

A tightening fills Lyla's heart as she watches them go. Knowing with every beat of her heart, somethings not right and they ain't going to no wood pile. Lyla had tried to make quick work of getting all the kids inside. Tried to get back out to Will and Johnse as fast as she could.

The sick feeling in her heart sure something wasn't right between them, but then Aunt Levicy needed her to pull pies from the oven while she mashed up the potatoes and after everything she had already done, Lyla couldn't deny her such a simple request.

But once the pies were lined up on the window sill cooling, Lyla were racing back outside to find them.

When Lyla can't find Will and Johnse near the wood pile, herr heart starts to race, worry begins to twist tighter in her gut.

Confirming every fear she had when he and Johnse first took off… This was never about gathering wood.

Clutching her shawl tighter around her shoulders as the cold creeps in beneath the fabric of her dress. Lyla's eyes scan about her surroundings as her body moves in a steady circle to get a good look about, the skirt of her dress twirling with the motion.

The font yard is clear as supper is almost ready. The open snow covered grass surrounds the house, surrounding her. Just beyond that lies the forest. Full of dense foliage, trees taller than five men stacked. Normally their luscious green hues would stare callingly back at her, but it's winter, only barren branches and brown dead leaves meet her gaze.

Lyla's heart starts to deepen with worry when suddenly she hears it. Muffled, but not too far away as she follows the sound like bread crumbs left to lead the way.

Lyla hears Will's voice, she'd know it anywhere, as she moves steadily along the side of the old wooden barn, hear the grit thick on his breath. It tells her he's displeased far stronger than any choice of words ever could.

Lyla tugs her shawl a little tighter around her as the setting sun begins to draw in the cold mountain air or maybe's it's just the apprehension finding its way into her heart… Lyla's not sure which.

"Coulda had all the girls in Wes' Virginia and Kentucky alike fer all I care, 'nyone but her. You knew what she meant ta me, but you didn' thinka that did ya?"

"I never meant neither of yous no harm, Cap. I tell you true, but if she's carryin' my baby-"

Will and Johnse's words send a quick shiver down Lyla's spine. Send her mind racing with thoughts of what Johnse's got cooking up, but she never gets to hear what his intentions are, before a loud bang sounds.

Nearly startling Lyla as the wooden walls of the barn start to rattle from the force of it, and she knows Will has lost his temper.

Grabbing the skirt of her dress, Lyla trudges quickly through the layers of mud and snow. Rounding the back of the barn as quickly as she can, and when she does, her intuitions proves her right.

Lyla finds Will's got Johnse pinned up against the barn by the collar of his shirt. Her new husband's chest is heaving, his nicely combed hair now fallen wildly in his face as he stares his big brother down with a raw intensity that leaves even her feeling rattled.

"This is my family, you understand Jonce? 'N you'd best not to get any ideas otherwise." Will seethes in his face.

Lyla moves quickly toward them, her own fears momentarily forgotten as the situation suddenly escalates.

Hoping to stop all this nonsense before someone else catches wind of it. The back of the barn has them covered for the time being, but with the way this situation is rapidly unfolding, it's likely someone will come to intervene if Johnse and Will start to brawl.

And then everyone will know the awful truth. The terrible truth Lyla thought she had managed to bury when she wed Will today, but she's beginning to see this secret is too big to completely disappear forever.

"Will," Lyla calls as she comes up on them, but her voice only gets drowned out by Johnse.

"But if she's havin my-" Johnse tries once again to reason with his brother like the well-meaning fool he is, missing the importance of this to Will completely.

"Nah, you listen Jonce, you took somethin' that wasn' yours ta take and then you ran off like a coward when it came time to own up to it, jus' like you always do. I stood by her. I faced Pa. The baby she's carryin' is mine. You best to forget anything else." Will carries on.

His fists clenched so tightly around Johnse's collar his knuckles are turning white. He hasn't even glanced her way. In all his anger, Lyla doubts he even knows she's there or realizes it's her.

"Will," Lyla tries again, her voice low from shock as the truth of Johnse's realization sets in.

Lyla had known in her heart he knew the baby was his. Despite what Will told his Pa. How could he not? But after Johnse said nothing when Uncle Anse pressed her, she had somehow thought he had accepted the possibility the baby could be Will's.

But thinking on that now Lyla realizes how silly the notion was. Why would he believe she had been with them both? He knows her better than that.

Lyla tries to catch Will's eye, but he's too deep in it now to notice her anyway. Breathing hard, intense gaze piercing on Johnse like the rest of world has fallen away as he drives his point home.

"Yer my brother Jonce, but if you try 'n interfere with my family. You will answer for that." Will threatens, his breath heavy, his eyes drilling into Johnse so fiercely it surprises Lyla.

She's never seen him look at his brother this way before. Johnse's older, thicker, and harder, but Will is taller, more lanky, and has an intensity inside him any man should fear. The kind Lyla knows could turn on Johnse if he pushed Will too far.

It's not something she dwells on often, but she's noticed a change in Will. Since he took part in avenging her Pa's death, since skunk hair was savagely murdered, since all this nonsense with the McCoy's sent men into these hills hunting her family down for a bounty.

Will's harder now, more on edge, more quick tempered, and Johnse has certainly stirred up the worst in him just now.

"Cap!" Lyla finally shouts, finding her voice.

She's never called him that. Not in all her years together, but nothing else was breaking through the heat of his gaze and she knew in her gut this whole mess was only gonna turn more sour.

His face whips over to her almost instantly, his pupil going wide as he takes the sight of Lyla in as if he's just now realizing she's there.

"What's goin' on?" Lyla asks, concern laced on her breath, her eyes searching his, before briefly falling on Johnse and then back onto Will.

She can't say she's entirely surprised by this turn of events. Can't say she's surprised Johnse's wants to own up now after leaving her when she needed someone most.

Lyla also knows how upset Will was with his brother over what happened and then for leaving her to face it on her own. Lyla had seen that fire in his eyes when Johnse had tried to talk her earlier, but it's her wedding day, as last minute as it was, didn't seem like the best time to air these grievances.

Turning back to Johnse, Will instantly let his brother go, smoothing out the collar of his shirt.

"We was just having a word, is all. Right Jonce?" Will said, his voice edging with the answer he expected his brother to give, but Lyla can also tell he's trying to cover. She can tell he senses her fears and is trying his best to ease them.

"That's right," Johnse agreed, tugging down his shirt to smooth out the wrinkles. His gaze heavy upon her.

Lyla's eyes pass between them both, not fooled in the least. She heard what they said, saw them with her own two eyes, but as long as it was done, she's willing to just let it be.

Will steps closer to her as Johnse pushes off the barn wall, becoming practically a barrier between them two, but as Johnse moves to leave, Will leans in with a parting word.

"Stay away from her. I don' wan' you upsettin' her. Yeah hear?" Will warns low on his breath, leaning in close, blocking his brother's retreat.

Will's words surprise Lyla, the warning on his breath, but then she watches Johnse meet his gaze dead on.

"Don' look like I'm the one upsettin' her." He cuts back as if Will is making a whole lot out of nothing, before pushing past his little brother and moving toward the house.

Lyla hears a huff leave her husband, watch his shoulder grow tight.

"Will…" Lyla says gently, reaching out to place hand on his shoulder, rubbing gently at the tension she sees building between his muscles.

"I didn' wan' you to see all that." Will admits on a heavy breath before he turns around slowly to face her.

"He knows? He gonna tell 'nyone?" Lyla asks with apprehension, biting on her lower lip at the thought.

Holding back the heaviness that wants to build on her heart with this news as her gaze wanders over her shoulder to the direction Johnse's left in.

This day didn't go at all like Lyla planned. Her Pa wasn't there, most of her kin wasn't either, but she still got the result she always wanted, the one she always prayed for, to be Mrs. William Hatfield and the thought Johnse could stir up something that could hurt that, broke Lyla's heart.

Lyla feels Will's big callused hands surround her face as he draws it back to him. She finds his eyes waiting for her before he speaks.

"My brother's a fool, but he ain't that dumb. Don' matter though, we're married now. Nothin' he can do. I'm not gonna let him or anyone' come between us. Yeah hear?" Will swear it, in that deep breath gritty way that always has her believing him, but still she's scared.

Scared Johnse will stir up trouble. Scared others will look down on them if the truth came out. Sacred Will might change his mind after the baby comes. Scared this bubble will burst. Scared.

But Will seems to sense that, the way he knows Lyla so well, as she feels his thumb gently stroke over her cheek as his forehead drops down to hers.

"Yer my wife. There's nothin' I wouldn' do to keep you safe and happy, Darlin'. You ain't gotta worry about Jonce or 'nyone else."

"But the baby?" Lyla asks, fear edging in her voice. Nervous over what all this means.

"Our baby," Will corrects her, his choice of words making her eyes water as her arms reach out and wrap around him.

"Our baby?" Lyla asks on a shuttered breath, making sure he really means it.

"We're a family now, Darlin'." He tells Lyla, smile spreading wide on his face.

The smile that always leaves her weak in the knees, that makes her heart flutter and belly flip.

Hearing all she needs to, Lyla pulls Will into a passionate kiss. Knowing he's finally hers, all hers, to have and to hold as Lyla pleases.


	5. Chapter 5

Note: I wasn't sure I was going to continue this story, but I felt it needed this. So here it is. Hopefully you agree.

* * *

The room is cold on this winter night, the icy chill creeping in through the cracks between the slats on the walls. Will stands before Lyla beside the old bed, a soft silhouette, the lantern casting shadows over and around him.

The celebration long over, most of the family's gone home or turned in for the night, the fiddle long ceased its tune, and now only the two of them remain, alone with the cold air, a steady lantern, and the weight of their wedding night to come.

Lyla swallows hard against her growing nerves as Will's eyes pierce through her, his lips mute. Most of the house has retired for the night, only a few stragglers remain. Their low voices filter in periodically from a few walls over, faint and indistinguishable.

Will's sisters are sound asleep just a thin wall and curtain away in the next room. Lyla tries to ignore the sporadic sound as one of them stirs.

Her uncle Anse and Aunt Levicy, made the room up just for her and Will as is proper, squeezing the kids in together for the night.

Finally alone, just the two of them, the expectation of what's to come hangs over them both, lying heavy in Will's stare. It feels thick in the air, almost tangible enough to reach out and wrap the both of them in it.

A shiver runs down Lyla's spine as Will's gaze pierces through her against the flicker of the flame. Her shoulders quake suddenly as he steps closer to her in the dim light, her belly clenching in anticipation.

She's wanted this for so long, she finds herself torn over why she's so nervous now.

Gently Will's hands slip across your jawline, his long fingers weaving into your hair to cradle Lyla's face, his palms rough but warm against her soft skin.

"We don' have ta do nothin'." His husky breath whispers to her in the dark, sensing her nerves.

Will's offer fills Lyla's heart, soothing her nerves the way he's done so well since they were just kids. Always knowing exactly what she needs to hear to calm the fear.

And in that moment, Lyla see a side of Will no one else does. Not the gun slinger, the sharp shooter, the Hatfield out for blood and vengeance those wanted posters make him out to , the hot tempered, steady trigger uncle Jim wants him to become.

No, this Will is all hers. Only she gets to see this side of him. The softness buried deep beneath of all the rough. He saves that only for her.

Bringing a warm smile to her face, Lyla's eyes fall closed as she leans into his warm touch, pressing her cheek deep into his hand.

"We're married now 'n everyone already thinks we have. Ain't no goin' back now. We'd only raise hairs if we don' on our weddin' night." Lyla reminds him, trying to be sensible about a matter that is anything but.

"I don' give a damn what anyone thinks… I can wait. I don' wan' anythin' you don' wan'." Lyla hears Will counter insistently, stubborn and strong like the best of 'em.

His protectiveness making her soften as his presence and warmth surround her on this cold night. Standing so close Lyla can feel the warmth emanating off Will's body against the chill of the room.

Lyla can feel the pace of his breath, quicker than it was earlier tonight and ever quickening.

Will isn't going to press her, he'd never do that, but his body tells her things words don't speak… He wants her, all of isn't going to say it, but he does.

Slowly Lyla's learning this new side to Will. Those warm summer days in the woods, standing here with him now, his body tells her things without ever saying a word.

Lyla's eyes open and find Will's once again, saying the words she knows he needs to hear.

"I wanna be yours..."

Lyla watches as Will's throat bobs hard in his throat with her answer, listens as a heavy breath leaves his lips before her eyes return to his. Their gaze holds for several heart pounding moments as Will's gaze grows steadily darker like the night, the blue almost turning midnight.

A feeling surges through Lyla's body under the weight of it, something warm and intoxicating. More intoxicating than any whiskey that has ever touched her lips.

Just knowing she's the reason for his flame, she's the one who can spark this kind of fire within him, feels powerful in a way Lyla's never felt before.

Her eyes hold steady with his as a shuttered breath passes her lips in anticipation. A shiver runs through Lyla with the stroke of Will's thumb against her cheek, rough and callused, but safe.

Her hands tentatively reach for his sides, feeling the heat of his body radiate through the thin fabric of his shirt.

Lyla feels his breath vibrate nervously against her lips as Will slowly leans in. The space between them disappearing as Will holds her gaze until the last second before he captures her mouth in a slow burning kiss.

Lyla's knees buckle with the spark of his kiss as her hands grip at him to steady herself. Lyla's waited so long to be his she finds herself falling under his spell on as her lips follow his lead.

Lyla's hands fist the cotton of his shirt, fingers digging into his warm flesh as Will's mouth leaves hers, moving steadily along her jaw, tingles vibrating beneath his lips, leaving sparks of fire winding through her body like a quiet blaze.

A quiet gasp escapes her as Will's lips find the sensitive skin just below her ear. Lyla's head falls back, heat rising under her skin with his touch as she melts beneath him.

With Will's hot breath against her skin, his mouth devouring her neck, Lyla finds her body reacting in ways she hasn't experienced before.

Lyla sways on her feet, overtaken by the surge of new sensations rushing through her as Will's arms wind around her waist, the strength of them keeping her on her feet as she burn up under his kiss.

Lyla's breath hitches, a breathy sigh escapes her as she feel Will's mouth opens as it trails down her neck, taking you by surprise.

A terrifying thrill races down her spine with the feel of Will's tongue brushing and tasting her, warm and wet in a way she's never felt before. His kiss grows hungrier against her sensitive skin as Lyla grows weak in the knees.

In the grip of Will's love, as he makes her feel like no one ever has before, guilt finds its way into Lyla's heart too.

This should have been his all along. As her husband, she should have only been his.

More than that even, as her love, only Will should know the taste of her mouth, the feel of her skin, the shape of her body and the way it can move with his. Lyla can't help but feel she robbed him of that.

As Will's lips leaves her neck and she catches sight of the love in his eyes, Lyla's insecurities begin to deepen and she find herself apologizing for the wrongs she committed against him.

"I'm sorry ya got saddled with a ruined bride, Will. I'm so sorry." Lyla confesses in haste and guilt as tears threaten the brinks of her eyes.

Lyla sucks in a sharp breath as Will's hands suddenly cup her face in response, his forehead settling against her own, his warm breath fanning her face with the closeness.

"I don' wanna hear you talkin' 'bout yerself like that. Nothin' ruined about you, darlin'." His voice sounds deep and husky with an insistent quality that makes Lyla's belly tighten as he holds her close, sealing his words with a long passionate kiss that sets them both on fire.

Lyla's breathless when Will pulls back. Meeting his eyes again, she finds she can hardly breathe against the weight of his stare and the way it pulls at her belly like the flutter of wings.

Lyla's heart thumps harder against her chest with the hunger and desire she finds blinding in his eyes. No one's ever looked at her the way he does, as the faint flame of the candle makes Will glow as he stands across from her in the otherwise silent room.

Lyla watches as Will slowly takes hold of his suspenders before pulling them from his broad shoulders, one by one. Holding her gaze for every moment, his eyes watching her so carefully, as if he's trying to read her mind.

Nerves build in Lyla's belly as she follows his lead, reaching for the buttons on the front of her dress. Her fingers tremble as Lyla slowly works them free.

Her chest rattles as she swallows hard against her nerves. Lyla's gaze breaks from Will as he untucks his shirt from his trousers and begins rapidly unbuttoning it.

Reminding herself she shouldn't be nervous, this is Will after all, but the anxiousness lingers just the same. Whispering, this'll be different than last time. This'll matter in a way what she did before never did.

This is the man she loves and she is finally his. That truth emboldens the yearning she's held restrained inside her for so long, but also makes leaves her chest tighten with nerves.

Lyla doesn't even realize how transparent she is until she feels Will's big hands cover hers.

"Ya scared?" She hears him ask.

Lyla's eyes rise to meet Will's waiting pair. Her gaze grazing across his now exposed chest on her way up, making her breathe rattle and heart race seeing him so exposed.

"I know I shouldn' be. I jus'…" What? Her mind mulls over the answer, trying to find the words, but it's her heart that knows the real truth.

"…I don' wanna disappoint you." Lyla finally answers, her eyes falling from his, back down to the floorboards beneath her cold bare feet.

Lyla trusts Will. Trusts him more than anyone else, but she's also not entirely sure what Will's expecting here.

Is he hoping she'll be like one of those hussies around town or a tavern whore? Surely, they know how to please a man.

The expectation somehow feels different with them both knowing she's already warmed a man's bed. Leaves her feeling like she should know something she don't.

Lyla still don't remember much of what happened with Jonce and that's the last thing she wants to try and recall in this moment.

Growing up without a mother, no one ever talked about these things with Lyla. Being the oldest girl out of her cousins there was never anyone to talk with about these matters.

Sure, she's heard a crass word or two out of the Hatfield men over the years, but mostly they tried to shield her from that. It wasn't lady like after all.

Lyla had hoped Levicy would have a word with her before her wedding about wifely duties and such. But she entered her wedding night with a seed already strong in her belly, so her kin naturally assumed it was too late for such talk.

Lyla can't help but feel out of her element here. Will has sacrificed so much for her, Lyla don't want to leave him dissatisfied too.

The worries race and rattle something fierce through her brain until she feels Will's hands cradle her cheeks and draw her face away from the floorboards.

Lyla meets Will's gaze only to find reassurance as a light huff lifts off his chest and he flashes her a small crooked grin.

Leaning in, he kisses her gently on the lips before resting his forehead against hers, softly brushing their noses in a tender show of love as his thumb sweeps steadily across her cheek.

"Ya can't disappoint me, darlin'. Not like this. Ya got no idea how long I've wanted you… I'm more worried 'bout pleasin' you. All I wanna do is make ya happy." Will admits on a thick whisper, his hot breath dancing across her lips.

There Will goes again, sweeping Lyla off her feet without even trying. Nothing can strike a match inside her more than Will loves. It's like nothing she's ever known with another.

To the rest of the world he might have a perfect aim with his rifle, but it's Lyla's heart he never misses.

Her fingers tangle in the long blonde hair at the back of his neck, needing to feel him beneath her fingertips as she gently nuzzles his nose in return.

"Ya already make me happier than I eva' thought I could." Lyla whispers back as she pulls Will into a fiery kiss.

His insecurities, his weaknesses reassure her own, putting to rest any misguided fears she had about satisfying his wants and needs.

The hunger of Will's kiss tells Lyla without words he's just as desperate as she is to explore what's been building between them for so long.

A new kind of heat rushes through Lyla as Will takes control of the moment, his rough fingertips faintly brushing at her skin as he starts in on the buttons of her dress.

A breathy sigh slips heavy from her lips as Will's kiss breaks from her mouth and her mind begins to spin. Moving hastily down her neck, exploring the places his hands reveal as he works the buttons loose on her dress.

Lyla's breath grows heavy in her lungs as her hands splay across his back, discovering the feel of his body, the feel of his muscles moving and flexing beneath her palms as Will undresses her.

Tugging the dress open and off her shoulders, Lyla's heart pounds as Will's lips follow just a step behind.

A delirious feverish feeling fills her veins, like the one they both discovered in the woods on election day. Only this time she knows no one's coming to put this fire out.

Lyla reluctantly releases her hold on Will as she feels him gently tug her dress off her shoulders and down the length of her body, before the fabric falls and pools at her bare feet. Lyla feels the cold air rush in as Will's warm mouth leaves her collarbones and he takes a step back.

Standing in only her shift, Lyla's not ready for him to see what he's bought into. Afraid he might have buyer's remorse, she moves back to him, cupping his scruffy cheeks in her palms as she pulls him into another searing kiss.

The need to explore Will, to know him in the most intimate ways only grows louder inside her as Lyla breaks their kiss, moving to the slope of his neck and steadily down toward his chest as her hands roam the contours his body in exploration.

Reaching the top of his trousers, Lyla longs to know what makes Will tick, the way he's already been discovering her with ease. His skin tastes salty on her tongue from the long day, but also sweet as her mouth explores him.

Eager to please him, Will's response to her endeavor only drives her on. Lyla's mouth dances across Will's chest, savoring the taste of him, and the way he clutches her tighter in response, pulling her body fully against his.

So close, she can feel his breath growing heavier with each exhale under her kiss. Lyla feels the rhythm of Will's chest against her as his hand begins to knot in her hair and his other firmly grips at your hip, fisting her shift as he holds her impossibly close to him.

Lyla's chest tightens when Will suddenly bunches the material of her shift in his grip before pulling it over her head, leaving her bear before him.

Her body trembles as Lyla tries to convince herself it's just from the cold against her bare skin, but inside she knows she can barely feel the chill against the emotions raging inside her.

A shaky breath slips past her lips as Will takes a step back. Instinctively, Lyla's hand falls to cover her stomach, still insecure. The bump is still small, but visible and she's self-conscious of it all the same.

In quiet moments, Lyla wishes she could connect with this baby, but in truth, it still terrifies her. This isn't how things were supposed to be.

She never could have imagined she'd be carrying another man's child on her wedding night and even though Will's willing to take that burden on, doesn't mean he's ready to see the proof of her transgressions.

Will's eyes rake over Lyla, his milky eye luminous in the candle light, his blue eye growing darker than she can ever remember seeing it. The heat in his gaze sending a shiver running over her skin, but Lyla can't look away.

Still she bites at her lip nervously as Will steps to he and slowly removes her hand, lacing her fingers together with his as he looks down at her bare swollen stomach.

"I'm sorry Will, I promise I'll give ya more." The words tumble off Lyla's lips, she needs to tell him that as her eyes begin to water with the weight of her sins.

Lyla doesn't know what to expect of Will where this baby is concerned. He's taken it in name, that's more than she ever could have asked. She's already reconciled in her mind this baby may be more hers than his.

As Will looks back up at her, meeting Lyla's eyes once again, there's a lightness to his gaze she wasn't expecting to find.

"You betta." He says, cracking a smile that instantly sets her heart at ease. "I wanna fill a house with 'em. As beautiful as their mama."

His eyes never leave her as Lyla feels Will's knuckles find her stomach, sending a shaky breath off your lips as he gently runs them up and down the curve of her belly while he speaks.

"But this'll be our first."

Lyla's heart flutters with hope, but still she's cautious as her eyes hold steady with his piercing blue, and glassy white one. "I wouln' think less of ya if you felt different 'bout this one."

Releasing her hand, Will cups Lyla's face, his eyes imploring hers as he leans in close.

"I love you." He swears it, his words heavy and pressing as his thumb gently strokes her cheek.

Lyla's breath quickens past her lips as a shiver runs through her. Will has said it in so many ways before but never like this.

This is the first time he's said the words to her aloud as she melts to the sound of them rolling off his lips.

When he kisses her next it steals the breath from Lyla's lips as she kisses him back with the same intense need.

Breaking the kiss, Will leaves a trail of soft tender kisses down her body. Along her collarbones and between the valley of her breasts, slowly moving south, leaving Lyla gasping and wanton to his touch as her hands lace into his long blonde hair.

Crouching down in front of her, Lyla watches carefully as Will's hand settles on the curve of her waist, his thumb brushing the swell of her belly tenderly.

Lyla sucks in a sharp breath when Will leans in and rests his forehead against her flesh.

"And you." She hears him whisper, his husky breath warm and seducing against her chilled bare skins, before he feels his lips faintly touch her belly, sending tingles rushing through her while body.

A shuttered breath bursts past her lips, unable to hold back her love for him, Lyla hands grip his messy hair, trying to draw him back up to her, because in that moment, Lyla knows she's never loved anyone more.

With Lyla's insistence, Will's hungry mouth begins to blaze a trail up her body, back up to her face, melting her under his touch.

He barely has time to rise to his feet before her lips are crashing back on his, desperate for his kiss. Desperate for him, Lyla's arms wrap around Will's neck, hands tangling in his hair as she pulls him as close as she can get.

Any lingering fears or doubts washed from her mind. Will matches her kiss with equal ferocity as his hands make quick work of his trousers and breeches, before Lyla feels them drop and pool at both her feet.

Grabbing the backs of her thighs, Will hoists Lyla up against him. Their bodies come together as Lyla wraps her legs around his waist while Will holds her steady, his hands taking hold on the back of her neck and rear.

Lyla's never been more naked and exposed than she is with Will in that moment, with anyone else she'd have felt scared, self-conscious even, but Lyla's never wanted anyone the way she wants Will in that moment.

Never trusted anyone more. Lost in the kiss that greets her, Lyla barely realizes they've moved, until Will lowers them both onto the bed.

Her back comes to rest against the tick and blankets as Will's weight settles across her and between the cradle of her thighs.

Will breaks their urgent kiss to stare down at her with a look that cuts through Lyla like a knife.

His gaze so intense, she finds it hard to breathe as she swears he can see into the deepest parts of her.

And as his hand slips forward from the back of her neck to brush his thumb along the edge of her face, Lyla swears she's everything to him in that moment, his whole world.

Their eyes hold impossibly steady as she realizes from the deepest part in her heart, there's nowhere else she belongs, but beside him. She'd gladly follow this man to ends of the earth.


End file.
